By Barbara Flowers, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Lesson Description
Since 1920, women have more than doubled their share of the labor force. More women are working, but has the type of work they do advanced similarly? What were the top occupations for women 20, 60, and 100 years ago, and how do those occupations compare to women’s choices today? In this lesson, students use primary documents to review historical trends in women’s share of the labor force and chosen occupations. Using Barbie™ careers as a timeline, they speculate as to why Barbie represented certain careers for girls at different points in time since 1959. They choose which career Barbie might represent next year and explain that choice in a one-page essay.
Standards and Benchmarks (see page XX)
Concepts
Labor force
Labor trends
Objectives
Students will
 define labor force,
 identify trends in labor force participation,
 examine women’s occupations historically.
Time Required
90 minutes
Materials
Barbie™ in the Workforce PowerPoint slides 1 through 9
PowerPoint slides 10-12, printed and cut into Barbie™ cards, one set per group of 4 to 5 students
PowerPoint Slide 3, once copy for each group
Handouts 1 through 5, one copy for each group
An extra sheet of paper and a ruler for each student
Glue or tape to place Barbies on the timeline
Procedure

1.
Explain that women’s participation in the work force has changed over time, both in the number of women workers and in the type of work women do. Show slide 1 and tell students they are looking at the U.S. Department of Labor Bulletin of the Women’s Bureau from 1925 that provides the percentages of persons 10 years of age and over engaged in gainful occupations.
Ask the following questions:

What percentage of women were working in 1880? (14.7)

What percentage of women were working in 1890? (17.4)

1900? (18.3)

1910? (23.4)

1920? (21.1)

What was the trend in women’s employment? (Women’s employment increased each decade
until 1920.)

What was the trend in men’s employment? (Men’s employment increased each decade until
1920.)

What might explain the drop in employment of both men and women in 1920? (Possible answers: There was a recession in 1920 that extended into 1921. World War I had ended and the
economy was transitioning from wartime to peacetime.)
2.
Distribute Handout 1: 1925 Publication Excerpt or provide one student a copy to read aloud. Ask students to explain the author’s reasoning for the drop in employment from 1910 to 1920.
Revisit the first paragraph of the second page if necessary. (The author reasons that because the census in 1910 included months through April 15 while the census in 1920 was taken on the first day of 1920, some employment in agriculture that came later in the spring would not have been
reported in the 1920 statistic.)
3.
Show slide 2. Instruct students to read the graph heading, and ask a student to describe what is shown on the graph. (The graph shows the percentage of the labor force held by women and the
percentage of the labor force held by men.) Define the labor force as the total number of workers, including both the employed and the unemployed. The unemployed consist of people who are without jobs and are actively seeking work. So, the labor force consists of people who are working and those who are not working but seeking work.

What happened to the percentage share of men in the labor force from 1920 through 1960? (It
declined from 80 percent to 68 percent.)

What happened to the percentage share of women in the labor force from 1920 through 1960?
(It increased from 20 percent to 32 percent.)

For 1970, the share of men in the labor force was projected to decline to 66 percent and the share of woman in the labor force was projected to increase to 34 percent. Do you think these projections proved to be accurate? (Answers will vary, but it is reasonable to expect the trends

established over the previous decades to continue.)
4.
Choose a student to read aloud the paragraphs under the graph on Slide 2. Ask the following questions:

Do you think that 1 in 3 women were in the labor force by 1970? (Answers will vary.)

What share do you think women are in the labor force today? (Answers will vary.)

The decline of the share of men in the labor force is explained by early retirement of older men and a trend toward higher educational attainment of younger men. How would the pursuit of higher education explain a reduction in labor force participation? (If men spend more years in
school, they have fewer years in the labor force.)
5.
Show slide 3 and provide each student with a copy. Remind students that in 1960, the share of women in the labor force was expected to grow to 34 percent by 1970. Ask a student to determine from the graph the approximate percentage share of woman in the labor force in
1970. (Approximately 38 percent)
6.
Show slide 4. Direct students to the title of this data set, Women’s Share of the Labor Force in the United States. Point out that this is annual data, with an observation date of January 1 from
1970 through 2000. These data are given in percentages and are not seasonally adjusted.
Seasonally adjusted data would be adjusted mathematically to remove the dips and bumps in employment that occur due to seasonal hiring, such as extra retail workers hired for the holidays. Distribute Handout 2: Share of the Labor Force, a blank piece of paper, and a ruler to each student. Instruct students to continue the graph on the handout by adding the labor force shares of men and women for 1970, 1980, 1990, and 2000. Instruct them to include a projected ratio for 2010.
7.
When students have completed their graphs, review their data as follows:
Year
1970
1980
1990
2000
Women
38.1
42.5
45.2
46.5
Men
61.9
57.5
54.8
53.5
8. Ask students for their projections for 2010 and record these on the board. Show slide 5, which reveals the share of women in the labor force through 2011. Determine which students’ projections were closest. Discuss the differences in the students’ expectations as follows:

What was the change in the share of women in the labor force between 1970 and 1980?
(4.4)


What was the change in the share of women in the labor force between 1980 and 1990?
(2.7)

What was the change in the share of women in the labor force between 1990 and 2000?
(1.3)

How would you describe the trend in the share of women in the labor force between 1970 and 2000? (Women’s share is increasing but at a decreasing rate.)

Based on the data, what is a reasonable projection of the share of woman in the labor force between 2000 and 2010? (Answers will vary but students might say it is reasonable to project that the share of woman in the labor force would have increased at a decreasing
rate, or that it would gain less than 1.3 percent.)

What was the difference in the share of women in the labor force between 2000 and 2010?
(0.2 percent)

What was the difference in the share of women in the labor force between 2010 and 2011?
(̶ 0.1)
9. Explain that just as the share of women in the labor force has changed, so has the type of work women do.
10. Show slide 6. Ask students to take a moment to study the slide and then call on a student to explain what the slide reveals. (The chart reveals the ten largest occupations of women from
1900 through 1950.) Ask the following questions:

What were the largest occupations held by women in 1900? (General household workers; teachers; saleswomen; housekeepers; laundresses; farmworkers [paid and unpaid]; dressmakers;
operatives in textile mills)

How did the list change in 1910? (Wage-earning farmers fell from the list and the stenographers,
typists, secretaries category was added.)

What changed between 1910 and 1920? (General clerical workers and bookkeepers were added;
farmers and operatives in textile mills were removed from the top-ten list.)

What was added in 1930 and what did the addition replace? (Operatives in apparel factories
replaced dressmakers.)

What was added in 1940 and what was replaced? (Nurses and waitresses replaced laundresses
and unpaid farmworkers.)

What was added in 1950? (Telephone operators)

What was removed in 1950? (Housekeepers)
11. Show slide 7 and ask the following questions:

What occupations remain in the top ten for women in 2010? (Secretaries [formerly labeled
“stenographers, typists, secretaries”],registered nurses [formerly labeled “nurses
(professional)”], elementary and middle school teachers [formerly labeled “Teachers”], retail salespersons [formerly labeled “saleswoman”], waiters and waitresses [formerly labeled
“waitresses”)


Explain that office clerks (formerly labeled “general clerical workers”) and bookkeeping are still in the top 20 occupations. Ask why telephone operator is no longer on the list. (That occupation
is obsolete.)
12. Draw a timeline on the board, marking every five years from 1955 through 2005. Place students in groups of 4 or 5 and distribute a deck of Barbie™ cards to each group, along with Handout 3:
Barbie Careers Timeline. Instruct students to display all of the Barbie™ cards. Tell them their task will be to place the cards on the timeline in the correct order the Barbies were introduced. Ask what clues they might use to determine the date each Barbie™ was introduced. (Popularity of careers over time, women’s entrance into certain careers over time, and different hair and
clothing styles.)
13. Instruct students to use the clues to determine when in history each Barbie™ was developed and place each Barbie™ card on the date on the timeline they think the Barbie was introduced.
Note that in a few cases, two Barbie careers were introduced in the same year, and that the cards provide a sampling and not all of the Barbie careers introduced. Allow time for students to complete the activity.
14. Ask the following questions, placing the Barbie cards at the appropriate dates on the timeline.
Some questions may require an internet search for answers.

Which Barbie career was introduced first? (Fashion model)

In what year was fashion model Barbie introduced? (1959)

Which Barbie career came next and in what year? (The fashion editor was introduced in 1960.)

Two Barbie careers were introduced in 1961. Which two were they? (Nurse and stewardess)

What clues did you use to place the stewardess at this early point on the timeline? (Answers will vary but may include that the term “stewardess” was replaced by the term “flight attendant”
later in history; the clothing reflects 1960 styles.)

Would an “airline pilot Barbie” have been released in the 1960s? Why or why not? (There were
no female commercial airline pilots in the 1960s.) Explain that Emily Warner, flying for Frontier
Airlines, and Bonnie Tiburzi, flying for American Airlines, were the first female commercial airline pilots, both hired in 1973.
1

Which other Barbie careers belong in the 1960s and where should they be placed on the timeline? (Career girl Barbie [1963], student teacher Barbie [1965], and astronaut Barbie
[1965])

Do you find any of the Barbie careers surprising for the 1960s? (Students may say that astronaut
Barbie seems out of place.) Explain that Sally Ride became the first woman in space on June 18,
1983 2 . However, Valentina Tereshkova, a Russian cosmonaut, rode into space in 1963.
15. Read the following excerpt from a review by Yana V. Rodgers of the book Almost Astronauts: 13
Women Who Dared to Dream.
3

In the early 1960s, a group of women dubbed the "Mercury 13" successfully completed a grueling set of psychological and physical tests in a private program designed to explore if women were as qualified as men to become astronauts. Led by Jerrie Cobb, the first woman to pass all the tests, their performance in these tests equaled or surpassed that of the male astronauts hired by NASA and clearly demonstrated that women were physically capable of working in this capacity. The bigger challenge proved to be the struggle to change prevailing attitudes and convince the United States government that women had the right to become astronauts.
Despite an extremely well-organized and persistent lobbying campaign, their proven qualifications, and high-level connections (the group of 13 included the wife of a senator), Ms. Cobb and her colleagues failed to gain admission into NASA's official astronaut training program. Their political efforts could not overcome intense opposition stemming from the condescending coverage in the media, stonewalling from
Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson (he famously scribbled "Let's stop this now!" on a memo about women in NASA), and damaging testimony from a renowned but resentful female pilot at a key Congressional hearing. It took almost two more decades before women gained admission into NASA's training program.
16. Ask the following questions:

Why would Mattel have produced an astronaut Barbie if there would be no female astronauts for another 18 years? (Answers will vary but may include that astronauts were prominent in the news; there had been a female cosmonaut; two manned space flights had taken place in 1961
and 1962 as part of Project Mercury, and Project Gemini was underway in 1965.)

Which Barbie careers were introduced in the 1970s? (Surgeon [1973] and Olympic downhill skier
[1975])

Why would Mattel create a surgeon Barbie doll? (Answers will vary but may include to empower young women, to help young women see themselves as surgeons as adults, and that the
women’s movement was gaining momentum.)

Why would Mattel create a downhill skier? (The winter Olympics were coming up in 1976. 4 )

Which Barbie careers were introduced in the 1980s? (Veterinarian [1985] and astronaut [1986])

Why would Mattel repeat an astronaut at this time? (Sally Ride had participated in missions in
1983 and 1984. Judith Resnik had participated in a 1984 mission and died in the 1986 Challenger
disaster.)

Which Barbie careers were introduced between 1990 and 1995? (Naval petty officer [1991], presidential candidate [1992], Marine Corp sergeant [1992], business executive [1992], army
medic [1993], police officer [1993], firefighter [1995])

What do the majority of these early-1990s careers have in common? (Answers will vary but students might note that they are all traditionally male occupations and that most are protective
occupations.)


What was happening during the early 1990s that may have influenced Barbie’s maker to develop those particular Barbie careers? (Middle East military action: In 1990 Iraq invaded
Kuwait and in 1991: the U.S. military entered Kuwait.
5 )

Had there been a U.S. female presidential candidate up until 1992? (Yes. Victoria Woodhull was the first U.S. presidential candidate, representing the Equal Rights Party in 1872 and the
Humanitarian Party in 1892. Of the two dominant parties, Laura Clay was a Democratic Party nominee in 1920; Margaret Chase Smith was a Republican primary candidate in 1964; Shirley
Chisholm and Bella Abzug were Democratic primary candidates in 1972; Ellen McCormack was a
Democratic nominee in 1976; and Patricia Schroeder was a Democratic primary candidate in
1984.
6 )

Which Barbie careers were introduced between 1996 and 2000? (Dentist [1997], WNBA player
[1998], business executive [1999], Women’s World Cup soccer player [1999])

How would you characterize the Barbie careers of the second half of the 1990s compared with the first half of the 1990s? (All of the Barbie careers represent jobs traditionally classified as
“men only” jobs. The jobs in the first half of the decade involved protecting country or community. The Barbies in the second half of the decade represent women in professional sports
and professional jobs.)

Which Barbies were introduced in the 2000s? (Art teacher [2002], producer [2003], presidential
candidate [2004], racecar driver [2010])
17. Explain that students have speculated as to why some Barbie careers were chosen. Often,
Barbie careers followed historical events and trends or focused on occupations that Barbie’s maker might want to encourage among women. Distribute Handout 4: Onion Article and instruct students to read the fictitious article regarding the choice of CEO Barbie.
18. Show slide 8 and ask the following questions:

How many of the top 500 American companies had a female CEO in 2005? (9)

What percentage of Fortune 500 CEOs were female in 2005? (1.8)

What is the trend in the appointment of female CEOs in Fortune 500 companies since 1995? (It
is increasing.)

Is the article merely sarcastic humor or is there an element of truth? (Answers will vary but students will likely recognize that, although the trend for Fortune 500 companies to hire female
CEOs is increasing, 3.8 percent indicates that aspiring to become a female CEO of a Fortune 500
company is, at this point, unlikely for most.)
19. Explain that there really isn’t a CEO Barbie but female computer engineers banded together to see that computer engineering was a recent Barbie career. Fewer women are entering that field.
In 2008, women received only 18 percent of the computer science degrees, down from 37 percent in 1985. Ask students to speculate as to the reason for the drop. (Answers will vary but students might suggest that there are other occupations that are more attractive to women or
that women do not like or feel capable of understanding computer science.)

21. Show the video Bridging the Gender Gap: Why More Women Aren’t Computer Scientists,
Engineers (length 7:57) at the following link or instruct students to read the transcript: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/science/jan-june12/womenscience_04-26.html
. After viewing, ask the following questions.
What are three reasons why so few young women choose to study computer science, physics, and engineering? (They think those fields are not interesting; they feel they would not be good at the skills required in those fields; they have an unattractive image of people who work in those
fields.)
Do you think of computer engineering as a boy thing? (Answers will vary. Ask students to explain
why they see it as a boy thing or why they do not.)
Why should women consider computer science, physics, and engineering? (These fields pay well
and offer opportunities to do creative work.)
How would women’s involvement in these fields benefit the economy? (Answers will vary, but students should recall that a greater diversity in products would result from a female perspective
and they should recognize that an increase in women’s income benefits their families.)
What was one think that happened in the 1970s that may have resulted in an increase of women becoming doctors and lawyers? (Television programs depicted women in those roles, and
women began entering into those fields.)
What does Dr. Klawe suggest as ways to increase women’s interest in these fields? (Introduce these fields to women just as they are entering college. Make women take an intro course in computer
science and make it fun.)
What suggestions do you have for encouraging women to enter computer science, physics, and engineering? (Answers will vary.)
22. OPTIONAL ACTIVITY. Explain that it is suggested that the first computer programmer was a woman. Ada Lovelace wrote “code” for the Analytical Engine in the early 1840s. Click the
“Finding Ada” link on slide 10 and ask a student to read Lovelace’s biography.
23. Continue to the next link, Sketch of the Analytical Engine, and explain that the Sketch of The
Analytical Engine Invented by Charles Babbage was written by L.F. Menabrea of Turin, Officer of the Military Engineers.
24. Click on the next link and explain that this version is easier to read. This writing was translated by Ada Lovelace who also added notes, seen at the end of the document. Scroll down to allow students to see the type of technical input contributed by Lovelace. Remind students that
Lovelace was the mother of three children and died at the age of 36. She had done considerable work in very few years.

25. Click on the final link, Letter from DeMorgan to Lady Byron (Ada’s mother). Read the entire letter, with emphasis on the passages pulled from the text. Ask the students to compare attitudes toward women in technical careers then and now, given what they’ve read in this lesson.
Closure
26. Ask the following questions:

What is the labor force? (The labor force is the total number of workers, including both the
employed and the unemployed.)

Approximately what percentage of the labor force is occupied by females? (approximately 46.5)

What is the trend in women’s share of the labor force? (It had been increasing until, but recently
declined.)

What is the trend in women’s career choices? (Answers will vary but students should point out that most of the top-ten female occupations in 1950 remained in the top-twenty female
occupations in 2010.)

How might girls and women be encouraged to enter more diverse fields, such as computer science and physics? (Answers will vary but students might suggest that more women in these roles be portrayed in the popular media, that women be required to take intro courses in these fields, or that efforts be made to change the perception women have of who enters these fields
by hearing from more women engineers.)
Assessment
23. Assign student partners to choose a Barbie career for next year. They must present their selection in a one-page essay, using a minimum of three sources to investigate the career choice and justify why the timing of that career choice is appropriate.

Handout 1: 1925 Publication Excerpt

SOURCE: Facts about Working Woman, U.S. Department of Labor, Women’s Bureau, 1925, pp. 1-2; http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/docs/publications/women/b0046_dolwb_1925.pdf.

Handout 2: Labor Force Participation

2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
5
1999
5
1998
1997
1996
1995
2012
Handout 3: Barbie Careers Timeline
2011
2010
2009
2008
1994

1983
1982
1981
1980
1979
1978
1977
1990
1989
1988
1987
1986
1985
1984
Handout 3 timeline
1993
1992
1976

1967
1966
1965
1964
1963
1971
1970
1969
1968
1975
1974
1973
1972
Handout 3 timeline
1962
1961
1960
1959

Handout 4: Onion Article

Endnotes
1.
http://www.aa.com/i18n/amrcorp/corporateInformation/facts/femalepilots.jsp
; http://cf.alpa.org/internet/alp/2000/jun00p29.htm.
2.
http://womenshistory.about.com/od/aviationspace/a/timeline_space.htm.
3.
http://www.amazon.com/review/R273LWNJPO2ZON .
4.
http://www.historyonthenet.com/Olympics/olympics_timeline.htm
.
5.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_United_States_military_operations#1990.E2.80.9319
99.
6.
http://womenshistory.about.com/od/publicofficials/tp/ran_for_president.01.htm.

Reading: Informational Text

Key Ideas and Details
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.1
Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.3
Analyze a complex set of ideas or sequence of events and explain how specific individuals, ideas, or events interact and develop over the course of the text.
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.7
Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words in order to address a question or solve a problem.

Craft and Structure
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.6
Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text in which the rhetoric is particularly effective, analyzing how style and content contribute to the power, persuasiveness or beauty of the text.
Common Core State Standards: Grades 6-12 Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical
Subjects
History/Social Studies

Key Ideas and Details
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.1
Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, connecting insights gained from specific details to an understanding of the text as a whole.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.3
Evaluate various explanations for actions or events and determine which explanation best accords with textual evidence, acknowledging where the text leaves matters uncertain.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.7
Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, as well as in words) in order to address a question or solve a problem.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.9
Integrate information from diverse sources, both primary and secondary, into a coherent understanding of an idea or event, noting discrepancies among sources.